The Two Ts
by SalSassy
Summary: Something that has been sitting on my computer for almost a year. I have no clue how/if I should finish this story
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Kate was still shot by Ari in this story, but it wasn't a head shot. She still dies and some details in this story will be altered.**_

" _Do you know how much I love you?" she asked as she touched the small girl, "I think that I love you more than all the pasta dishes in the world. You are a nice cabernet with a smooth finish to the best spaghetti Bolognese that one can make." The sweet moment was interrupted when she felt eyes on her._

This love story started years ago. It started the first time that he laid eyes on her. On July 26, 2003, the love of his life stopped his heart at first glance. Anthony DiNozzo imagined his life going into a thousand different directions, but being a father was the last thing he thought would happen. His heart was in his throat for many reasons. He was a dad but there wasn't a mother anymore. Gibbs laid a hand on his shoulder before sitting down next to the younger man, "You did good Tony. She'd be proud and happy." Tony let out the sob he was holding, "Before she—you know—boss she knew. She knew how far along she was, but she still wanted to help catch Ari. She died delivering her baby—" " _Your_ daughter. Kate survived getting shot by Ari to safely bring your daughter into this world. You're right, she did know, but she wanted to leave you…leave us…a part of her. Kate was shot in the chest and we both know that she probably wouldn't have survived. She left us with an extension of her. Kate was an incredible woman and agent. The two of you broke my rule, but damn you did it for a good reason. Kate left you a mini-her. I will be right here by your side, you won't do this alone. She has a huge family. So, you pick a name yet?"

Tony reached through the opening to touch his daughter's tiny hand. The tubes nearly covered her entire body. She looked like she'd break if anyone touched her, "Kate said that she wanted to name her after me. She said that even though I drove her crazy, she never worried about me not having her back. She knew that I'd jump through hoops for our child. Boss, this is Antonia Kaitlin DiNozzo. Kate left me a little fighter." The small baby twitched her leg and Tony knew that everything she ever did would have him sticking his chest out like a proud papa. Kate's younger stepsister offered to stay in the NICU on the day of her funeral. Gibbs and Abby practically had to pry him away from the hospital. Tony vowed to never leave his daughter's side for as long as he lived. As time went on, Antonia got bigger and stronger. By the time she was 7 months old, Antonia was a healthy baby and ready to go home. Tony drove himself crazy making sure that everything was safe and ready for her. Ducky and Abby put themselves in charge of safety-proofing his apartment. Gibbs and McGee took their time doing the nursery. Antonia's room was not too girly but a tribute to Kate as well. There was a picture of Kate pregnant standing next to a smiling Tony. Tony put her to bed that night and took a moment to realize that this was his new reality…a single dad.

As time passed, Antonia became a well-known presence at NCIS. While she loved everyone, McGee seemed to be her absolute favorite. She would light up whenever she saw him; their bond worried Tony (not seriously though) and made him happy. The only person left in the dark about his daughter was Ziva David. Tony didn't readily tell new people that he had a child because he didn't want hoards of people coming in and out of her life. He'd never told a woman about her since Kate nor had he kept them around long enough to make the introduction. Ziva had been working with them for nearly 2 years but he hadn't said anything. Last year when he came in with bites on his hands and jaw, Ziva assumed it was from a one-night lover. In truth, Antonia was teething and using her father as a chew toy. Tony didn't think that Ziva needed to know because questions would come up that he wasn't ready to answer. It wasn't until Gibbs and Lt. Colonel Mann butted heads that it slipped out. Colonel Mann suggested that some scribbling on a piece of paper was a mistake. Gibbs and Tony, who were standing on both sides of Abby, looked at it and shook their heads in unison. Ziva and Colonel Mann looked on questioning and Colonel Mann asked, "Would the two of you care to share with the rest of us?" Gibbs pointed to it and said, "It's not a mistake. That changes everything." They all looked after him as he just walked off. Ziva was about to speak up but Tony stopped her as he followed Gibbs. "He means that our victim has a small child, probably because one that is just learning to write." Ziva was perplexed, "How would you of all people know something like that?" He looked at her, "Because I have a child that is just learning how to write." Ziva looked at Abby, who wouldn't meet her eyes, and then rushed off to the elevator with everyone else. Ziva lasted in uncomfortable silence until the elevator got to the squad room, "Tony, since when did you have a child?" Tony simply ignored her and went to his desk. The rest of the day was productive but highly uncomfortable for Ziva and Tony. When he left the bullpen for the night, Ziva kept staring at his desk. She fought the urge to go snooping and simply stayed at her desk finishing paperwork. She never heard Gibbs come up behind her, "Ziver, why are you still here? I sent everyone home already." She looked like she was battling with herself, "Gibbs why am I the only one who didn't know that Tony was a father?" "Some people choose to keep everything close to the vest. You do, I do, McGee does, DiNozzo does, and hell even Jenny does."

Everything was relatively back to normal until Jenny's obsession with Rene Benoit came to a head. The entire undercover operation had its moments where it pushed Tony to his limits. His daughter saw more of McGee and Ducky than him, which unnerved him. He was missing important moments with her just because he was doing a favor for Jenny. After Benoit was killed, enemies came out the woodwork. Tony headed home to spend time with his daughter for a few days. They spent the night watching Looney Tunes until Antonia fell asleep on her father's chest. Tony looked down to see her little lips stuck out in a pout while her hands were wrapped around his neck. The small little body on his chest made every hard decision worth it. He tried harder to keep himself out of the line of fire until Jenny put him undercover. As a father, he felt like he was betraying his daughter by spending so much time working. He thought back to Jeanne and realized that he had no clue how he'd get out. He couldn't understand why he fell for her or why it hurt so bad when he had to tell her the truth. He had never loved another woman besides Kate and she'd given him his daughter. Tony knew that he would never take that step with Jeanne and maybe not any other woman. Tony vowed to never do another undercover op like the one he'd just done, for Antonia's sake. He put her in bed, wrapped Kate's blanket around her, and kissed her head before leaving the room. He cleaned up their dinner and went through his mail just as there was a knock on his door. He walked over to it and opened it to reveal an older woman, who appeared to be lost. Tony was hit upside the head before he could say a word.

McGee ran into the bullpen frantically causing Gibbs to look at him, "McGee where's the fire?" He went looking for his keys. "Tony's apartment. His downstairs neighbor called me after she called the fire department." Gibbs and Ziva needed no more information as all three of them took the stairs down to the cars. Tires came to a screeching halt near Tony's apartment building. There were numerous fire vehicles already there as Gibbs went to get information. He went with one of the firemen to find Tony. He saw blood near the stairwell and bolted down the stairs. Tony was slumped over with blood coating the back of his head and neck. He was unconscious and Gibbs struggled to drag him up the stairs. He braced himself before throwing Tony over his shoulders, in a fireman's carry, and taking the stairs two at a time. Firefighters wouldn't let Ziva and McGee in the building. McGee was frantically looking up at the building, hoping to see something…anything. He looked up at Tony's apartment one more time and saw Antonia in her bedroom window. She'd managed to open it halfway and crawl out onto the ledge. She kept looking back at the room and coughing. Ziva went to alert the fireman still outside so they could get her. McGee screamed up at her, "Antonia. Look down. Antonia! Down here!" Antonia looked down, "Timmy! Timmy! I'm scared. I can't find daddy." Ziva saw Gibbs emerge from the building with a limp and bleeding Tony.

"Antonia, I know you're scared but I need you to jump. I need you to jump into my arms. I promise I will catch you." Antonia started crying and holding on to the window tighter. The fire was getting worse and it seemed like the firefighters were moving in slow motion. They must've opened a door somewhere because the fire lurched in Antonia's room and made her slip. Onlookers gasped in horror and McGee tried to remain calm, "Antonia, sweetie jump. Jump into my arms. I promise I will catch you and never let go. Timmy needs Tonia so that we can save the world." That seemed to do the trick and the little girl jumped from the window into her uncle's arms. He caught her, held her close to his chest, and scrambled over to the waiting ambulance. McGee never left her side, including when she had to get stiches in her hand. Antonia hadn't spoken since arriving at the hospital. Gibbs appeared in the doorway to her room and motioned for McGee. Antonia tightened her grip when he moved; McGee nodded at Ziva. "Tonia, I need to talk to Gibbs. Can you stay right here with Ziva? I promise that she won't hurt you. She works with me, Gibbs, and your daddy. I'll be right out in the hallway where you can see me okay?" Antonia looked at McGee, then Ziva, and finally Gibbs before she loosened her grip.


	2. Chapter 2

"Antonia?" the little girl barely acknowledged Ziva. Ziva understood and pulled a picture frame out of the bag she brought with her. Ziva looked at the picture of Tony holding a pregnant Kate. Ziva asked softly, "Do you have any stories about her?" Antonia looked up to see Ziva holding the picture of her parents. She pointed to the small brunette, "That's mommy. She worked for the President once. Daddy said that she was afraid of mice but that she liked Stuart Little. That's silly because Stuart is a mouse."

Ziva chuckled with the little girl, "That is kind of silly. Your mother was very beautiful and so are you." Antonia murmured out a thank you, "Where's daddy?" Ziva tried her very best to come up with a child friendly explanation. She moved closer to the little girl and sat on the edge of the bed, "Your daddy got hurt but the doctors are really good and they are making sure that your daddy will be okay." Antonia looked at Ziva, "Are they really good or will daddy go to heaven with Mommy? I'm not ready for him to be with mommy. I still need him." Ziva felt herself suddenly welling up with emotions. She took her Star of David necklace off and put it on Antonia. "This necklace has brought me a lot of luck. I bet it will bring you some too. Your daddy isn't ready to leave you for heaven just yet."

"But he misses mommy a lot" Antonia said with tears running. Ziva wiped away some of her tears, "But he loves you even more." Antonia surprised Ziva with a tight hug before sitting back on the bed and balling up to cry. She didn't look at Ziva but said, "You don't have to stay, I'm a big girl." Ziva laid on her side in bed next to Antonia and said, "You are a big girl. And a brave one, but I want to stay." Gibbs watched silently from the doorway, smirking to himself. _And she doesn't think that she has a maternal bone in her body._

Ziva and Antonia had fallen asleep. McGee snapped a photo and left the room as quietly as he came in. He made it back to Tony's hospital room just as the man started to argue with a nurse. "Dammit, I said I'm fine. I want to see my damn daughter." McGee put a firm hand on Tony's shoulder, "You have a bad concussion, stitches in your head, some swelling in your neck, and memory loss. Antonia is okay. She's with Ziva."

"Ziva!" he shrieked. McGee chuckled and pulled out his cell phone. Tony calmed down considerably, "I didn't know that Ziva was good with kids." "Neither did I."

Three long weeks later, Tony was released after the infection around his stiches cleared up. Ziva had slyly given Tony a list of homes for sale when he came to pick up Antonia. Antonia only stayed with Ziva on the rare occasion that no one else was available to watch her while Tony was at doctor's appointments. Tony noticed how helpful Ziva had been even when she pretended not to be. He knew that Ziva often looked forward to spending time with Antonia; he also knew that she didn't mind that Antonia still had her necklace.

Tony finally decided on a house—to finally put down roots somewhere for his family—about 20 minutes from Gibbs and McGee. He couldn't and didn't want to go back to his apartment. He laughed to himself knowing that Kate would head slap him for waiting this long to actually buy a house. Antonia liked the house and was over the moon when Tony loaded up most of the house with some of Kate's things in storage. Everything started to go back to normal until Antonia's pre-school had an upcoming Muffins for Moms event scheduled. Antonia was sitting on Gibbs desk as he worked on a file in front of him. She was usually chatty, so he knew something was up. Without looking at her, he asked, "What happened at school? Beat somebody up?"

Antonia shook her head no and mumbled, "My class is having muffins for mom and I don't have a mom." Gibbs heard every word she said, "Did you tell your dad?" she shook her head no and said, "I don't want to make him sad."

Ziva bit her lip and worked up the courage to say, "I'll go. I know I'm not your mom, but I like muffins." Antonia gave a wide smile, "Really? You'll go to my school with me?" Ziva's smile matched hers, "I would love to."

Gibbs had gotten up, as they started to talk about outfits, to get on the elevator. When the doors opened, Tony and McGee walked out with lunch in their hands for the team. They looked over at the two giggling females. McGee asked, "What did we miss?" while Tony asked, "Since when does Ziva giggle?"

Gibbs simply smirked and said, "Since she volunteered to escort Tonia to Muffins for Mom at school." Tony was speechless and slowly starting to reignite his attraction to Ziva…but on an entirely different level.


	3. Chapter 3

"Am I doing this right?" Ziva asked in an uncharacteristically shy manner. Antonia laughed and shook her head no; she reached over to pull the string through the beads gently so that Ziva wouldn't break it. Ziva smacked her forehead, "I'm sorry T. I've never made a bracelet before."

"It's okay ZiZi. You're better at this than daddy." Ziva smiled more to herself than anything else at that statement. "ZiZi can I ask you a question?" "Of course." "Where's your family?" Ziva took a deep breath and turned away from Antonia. "My dad and I aren't as close as you and your dad are. My little sister Tali died a long time ago and my brother—" Ziva stopped talking immediately, battling with herself on whether or not she should tell the truth. The thought of everything blowing up in her face nagged at the back of her mind, but she pushed that aside. Ziva sat back down and grabbed Antonia's hands, "I have to tell you something that might make you angry with me." Antonia hesitated but said, "Okay ZiZi what is it?"

Ziva let out a shaky breath, "My brother, I didn't know him that well, is the reason why your mommy is in heaven. He was the one that hurt her and I hurt him back. I am so sorry Antonia." Antonia yanked her hands away—tears cascading down her face—and screamed, "I hate you! Get away from me! I don't have my mommy anymore and I don't want you! I hate you ZiZi! I hate you forever!" Ziva's lip trembled and for once she didn't try to stop the sob that escaped. She had so many emotions running through her head. She was unaware that Tony was standing in the doorway and heard the last of their conversation. She ripped her hand out of his grip as he tried to stop her and ran to her car. She never looked back as she fled the DiNozzo home and cried the entire drive to her own home.

Tony was conflicted. On one hand, he never thought he'd be able to tell Antonia that Ziva's brother was the person that killed her mom; he also didn't know how to handle her reaction to Ziva. He held her as she cried for a couple of hours. Logically, he knew that she was holding a lot of her emotions in, but it broke his heart that he couldn't take her pain away. It was much later that night when Antonia climbed into bed with him, clutching on Ziva's necklace like a lifeline. She laid her head down on his chest, "Are you awake daddy?" He ran his hand up her back, "What's up Tonia?"

Her voice was so low that he barely heard her, "I didn't mean it. I was just upset because I miss mommy and I love ZiZi. It—daddy it's not okay that I love ZiZi when mommy isn't here." Tony grabbed her face, "Tonia, mommy is always here. She's always in your heart." "ZiZi hates me now." Tony turned over and wiped her tears, "No, she doesn't." "Yes she does. Daddy, if it's okay for me to love ZiZi, can't you love her too?" Tony was speechless and eternally grateful that Antonia fell asleep before he could give her an answer.

*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*)*(

Tony was surprised when he walked into the bullpen and saw no Ziva. He was hopeful that she was somewhere else in the building until McGee informed him that Ziva took the week off. "What? Probie, where is she?" McGee noticed the worried look in his eyes, "Something I need to know?" Tony was about to respond when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder that belonged to his boss. "Leave it alone. She'll come around when she's ready." "Boss, she didn't mean it." Gibbs sighed, "You know that just as I do. However, Ziva has to process things her way and Tonia was going to learn the truth eventually." Tony couldn't swallow that pill and stormed off. Tony banged on Ziva's door for at least 20 minutes until her neighbor came outside. The middle-aged woman had a scowl on her face, "Could you stop banging on the door, she's not here." Tony flashed his badge and asked, "Where did Ziva go?" The woman shrugged, "All I know is that she had 4 big suitcases and that she paid her lease out." Tony felt his heart sank.


End file.
